To The Moon

1.Stockmarket return drivers-dividends = consistent but declining-earnings = important but variable-valuations = best friend or worst enemy!Focus on earnings and dividends for long-term growth, monitor valuations for risk and cyclical opportunity $.SPX(.SPX)$ $SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust(SPY)$ Image2.Gold appears to be embarking on a new big bull market...But what's driving this? --is it actually sustainable?Image3.Start-ups and Entrepreneurship is glorified as a youngster's game, but it seems statistically the best age to start a company is in your 50's (based on this paper).Not only is it never too late to start, it might even be better to start later.From "Age and High-Growth Entrepreneurship"Image

Breaking the Gold MarketGold $Gold - main 2502(GCmain)$ used to move inversely with real yields as the level of rates represented the opportunity cost of holding yield-free gold.This relationship broke down following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, reflecting both the importance of increased inflation volatility, and the impact of geopolitics both on risk hedging demand and reserves diversification.Who Controls the GoldEastern European central banks have been major buyers of gold in the wake of the dual geopolitical + inflation shocks of the past few years."Striving for a sense of security is a powerful motive in a region that’s been ravaged by Europe’s wars of the past — and that now finds itself next door to the continent’s deadliest confli

1.Investing in Global Equities?Check out this handy guide on using valuations to navigate risk and opportunity across the world's stockmarkets Image2.Crude Oil on the cusp...-launch pad or diving board? $WTI Crude Oil - main 2501(CLmain)$ Image3.Patience, Age, and Compounding...It's an oldie but a goodie -- Legendary investor Warren Buffett made his first billion in his early 50's. It wasn't until he was 65 that he would make his first $10 billion (and surpassing $50B at age 77). Don't count yourself out, and just plain keep on keeping on.Image

1.Heads up -- stocks the world over are about to enter into what has historically been their best month of the year...Different this time??🎅 $.SPX(.SPX)$ $SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust(SPY)$ $.IXIC(.IXIC)$ $Invesco QQQ(QQQ)$ $NASDAQ 100(NDX)$ $.DJI(.DJI)$ $GLOBAL X DOW 30® COVERED CALL ETF(DJIA)$ Image2.From about now through to May, Risk Assets (stocks, cyclicals/tech stocks, credit spreads + $Cboe Volatility Index(VIX)$ inversely) tend to outperform Defen

1.The best and the worst...interesting chart demonstrating the importance of selecting a good fund manager, but also the different experiences across asset classes (e.g. the worst US large growth manager was better than the best foreign large cap equity manager). That second aspect speaks to the “rising tide lifts all boats” part of asset allocation (in other words, yes pick the right stocks/fund manager, but also: make sure you pick the right asset mix!) $.SPX(.SPX)$ $SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust(SPY)$ $.IXIC(.IXIC)$ $NASDAQ 100(NDX)$ $Invesco QQQ(QQQ)$

1.Do NOT Concentrate 🫤 When it comes to stockmarket performance the more concentrated the index becomes, the more attractive it is to sail in the opposite direction of cap-weighted strategies and go for equal-weighted. Probably a lot of this is the result of the dot com bubble and early-1980’s oil boom, but it’s not the only analysis on this issue...Image2.Asset Allocators -- Pay Attention!What worked well in the past may no longer work... but thanks to various biases and industry pressures, the below picture will be too hard a pill for most to swallow.Here's why you should consider this scenario though: Image

1.Global Equities -- where do you go?-US is considered the safe bet--but could be set to deliver negative returns!-Frontier is promising, but uncomfortable for most-DM/EM have their own problems, but good prospectsThings to think about $.SPX(.SPX)$ $SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust(SPY)$ $.IXIC(.IXIC)$ $NASDAQ 100(NDX)$ $E-mini Nasdaq 100 - main 2412(NQmain)$ $Invesco QQQ(QQQ)$ $.DJI(.DJI)$ $GLOBAL X DOW 30® COVERED CALL ETF(DJIA)$ Image2.Hmmm... 🧐 🤔 if I'

1.are Utilities the new Semiconductors?(...or are semis the new utes?)market narratives and megatrends to muse on: $.SPX(.SPX)$ $SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust(SPY)$ $.IXIC(.IXIC)$ $NASDAQ 100(NDX)$ $Invesco QQQ(QQQ)$ $.DJI(.DJI)$ $GLOBAL X DOW 30® COVERED CALL ETF(DJIA)$ Image2.Accountants and Stock Analysts are dying...A number of forces and factors are driving these trends (e.g. regulations, human capital pipelines, offshoring/outsourcing, automation, competition, AI?)Just one example of the many

1.The 1850's-1930's was of course a very different time for the US (and the world) than now, but this chart sure serves as a reminder that it's not always the nice smooth up-right sloping chart pattern that we're all used to seeing.Lost decades (lost centuries?) happen. $.SPX(.SPX)$ $SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust(SPY)$ $.IXIC(.IXIC)$ $Invesco QQQ(QQQ)$ $NASDAQ 100(NDX)$ $.DJI(.DJI)$ $GLOBAL X DOW 30® COVERED CALL ETF(DJIA)$ Image2.Corporate Tax RatesHow low can you really go?US listed companies effe

1.While not all market peaks look like this (it is an average after-all), it serves as a reminder that it's not always easy to just sit tight and ride the trend with a plan to gracefully and gradually get out at the top.Market peaks happen when you least expect it, and often leave you with little time or conviction to do anything about it! $.SPX(.SPX)$ $SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust(SPY)$ $E-mini S&P 500 - main 2412(ESmain)$ Image2.Credit Spread Cycles?Yep -- credit spreads go through cycles, just like the stockmarket (but inverted) From boom to bust, fear to greed, chaos to confidenceImage3.Credit spreads are Crazy tightConfidence or Complacency?Image